The Research Core of the NCCU COE will integrate and centralize ongoing minority health and health disparities research and related research-based activities into a single interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary research enterprise and establish novel effective partnerships with organizations and communities for conducting original and transformative research leading to improvements in minority health and elimination of health disparities. First, the research conducted within the Research Core will be innovative, multidisciplinary and have a direct bearing on the promotion of minority health and elimination of health disparities. Second, the Research Core will establish and sustain novel outreach partnerships to conduct and support translational, community-based participatory research aimed at improving the health of local minority communities. Through provision of exemplary laboratory and field-based research training opportunities, the Research Core will help increase the number of well-trained researchers from health disparity populations conducting meritorious minority health and health disparity research. Third, the Research Core will also develop resources directed towards research infrastructure and capacity building in bioinformatics, data analysis and computational chemistry to bring innovation and depth into the examination of biological mechanisms underlying health disparities.